MOTO X

Motorola's Moto Maker customization tool for the Moto X will spread internationally in Q2, the company has confirmed, offering buyers a way to create their own combination of colors for the Android handset. Launched in the US back in August, for the moment Moto Maker has only been offered in the one location. As of next quarter, though, buyers in Western Europe and Mexico will get the same abilities.

In 2012, Google completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, something that eventually led to the release of the Moto X and several DROID handsets. The big news this week has been the Internet giant's sale of Motorola to Lenovo, and that leaves consumers speculating about what comes next. According to some sources that have cropped up, Motorola's lineup is already solidified through this year and next.

If the public watching the inner bits of Google and Motorola's relationship through Android weren't confused about it before, they certainly will be now. Today Motorola Mobility LLC has released an app called "Motorola Gallery", a replacement for the standard Android-based Gallery included with all Android devices before Android 4.4 KitKat.

Motorola's CEO Dennis Woodside has again taken to discussions about smartphone pricing and customization, something he has spoken about at length in the past. Among his topics was a focus on pricing, and mention of a $50 smartphone came into play. He also brought up customization, which the Moto X kicked off in a big way, mentioning the ability to customize the display.

The most time consuming part of switching phones is often transferring data from the old handset to the new one, something simplified for those switching to Motorola via the Moto Migrate app. In addition to shuttling content from an Android handset to one of Motorola's phone, it can now also be used by iPhone defectors.

Today Motorola has shown of a set of new wood-backings for their Moto X, a customizable smartphone that, with Motorola's own "Moto Maker" console, is able to be custom-ordered to ship. These new wooden casings join the original Bamboo and pull the pricing down from a cool $100 to $25. That's the price users will add on to their original cost of the phone after adding the wood instead of one of the many other color options for the back panel of this device.

It's fair to say Motorola had a big 2013, and SlashGear sat down with Steve Horowitz, senior VP of software engineering, and Steve Sinclair, VP of product marketing, at CES last week to talk wearables, contextual ecosystems, and the Internet of Things. The Google-owned company kicked off a new smartphone strategy, epitomized by the always-listening Moto X and the shockingly-affordable Moto G, arguably just as notable for what it left out of its products as what it chose to include. Meanwhile - and topical, given Google has just acquired Nest - we also talked about Motorola's place in the smart home, and where former Android project lead Horowitz sees the smartphone fitting in. Read on for the full interview.

As everyone awakens bleary-eyed from a celebratory night of ushering in the new year, Motorola has announced a permanent price cut for its no-contract Moto X flagship handset. Whilst a bit too late for those of you who grabbed one of these customizable phones for the holidays, the holdouts among us who have been waiting for a price drop can get the device for $399 USD off contract.

Users waiting for the wood back for the Moto X will be glad to see that it's finally arrived. Appearing ready for attachment to the customizing Moto Maker engine to the Moto X, this Bamboo back is the first "Natural" back in the category. Users will also find that it's not quite as inexpensive as the rest of the collection out since the start.

Motorola has officially teased the addition of a wood backing option for its Moto X smartphone. The option has long been rumored to debut at some point before year's end, with the first estimates of Thanksgiving being a bit quick on the trigger. A revised, Q4 release date range for wood backs surfaced around then, and it looks like that one is going to pan out sometime in the next few days.